Rep. George Miller Visit to Bangladesh Travel Blog
Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the committee, is traveling to Bangladesh this week to personally inspect conditions in the world’s second largest garment industry that is experiencing a high rate of fatalities and injuries and to meet with workers, victims, and industry and government officials. As he meets with workers, human rights advocates and government officials, we will be updating the trip in this blog from time to time. All times are local. Click here for more information on this important trip.
Wednesday, May 29th
4:47 p.m. – Miller met with Fazle Abed, the founder of BRAC (formerly the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), the largest NGO in the world, who was responsible for developing successful anti-poverty programs and microfinance in developing countries. He has called for unions to empower garment workers in Bangladesh as a means to alleviate sweatshop conditions and factory collapses.
1:00 p.m. – Press conference with reports at the American Embassy annex in Dhaka.
1:15 p.m. – Miller met with garment factory owners at the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, arguably the most economically and politically influential organization in Bangladesh.
Tuesday, May 28th
12:53 p.m. – Miller met with Gowher Rizvi, the senior advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. They discussed the GSP petition, relief for victims of Tazreen fire and Rana Plaza collapse, whether the government will retrench on its willingness to allow unions to register in the ready-made garment sector, and how the deaths at Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions has become a women's issue in the U.S. since the victims of these garment factory tragedies are overwhelmingly women.
11:00 a.m. -- Met with the Mikail Shipar, secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment to discuss obstacles to union registration. This followed a meeting with Srinivasa Reddy, director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Bangladesh to discuss the accord on fire and building safety. The ILO will be appointed as a neutral third-party to the steering committee for the fire and building safety accord.
News Clip: "Make workplace safer--US Congressman visits injured from Rana Plaza collapse"
The world must learn lessons from the deadly Rana Plaza collapse in Savar and ensure the safety of garment workers in Bangladesh and around the globe, said a visiting US Congressman yesterday.
“We can just no longer accept the status quo that continues to put workers’ lives in jeopardy. This is the message I will take back to the US Congress and the Obama administration,” George Miller told reporters while visiting Savar’s Enam Medical College and Hospital, where many injured victims have been taking treatment since their rescue from the wreckage of the nine-storey building...
Miller, with the help of a translator, talked to some injured workers at the hospital and appeared to be moved by their plight.
“Some of the workers have lost limbs and some have head injuries and broken bones. It is very hard to see these so many young people in such conditions.”
The US Congressman was worried that these victims might not be able to work again and become dependent on their families.
Monday, May 27th
4:37 p.m. – Miller asking questions of Zahur Ahmed, managing director of Apex Holdings, in the quality assurance area.
4:29 p.m. – Miller observing garment production at Apex factory.
4:04 p.m. – Miller met with union leaders at Apex garment factory in Kaliakoir. Apex produces garments for H&M, Zara, Wal-Mart, The Children’s Place and Target.
1:19 p.m. -- Observing finishing of arrow shirts at Beximco factory inside the Export Processing Zone.
1:07 p.m. -- Miller meets with worker welfare organization for workers at the Beximco garment factory in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone. Unions are not allowed in these zones. While wages are higher than outside the export processing zone, the unions asked Miller to assist them to guarantee severance payments as part of their pay package. Workers outside of export processing zones receive severance.
11:05 a.m. -- Woman still looking for her son who remains unaccounted for after the Rana Plaza collapse. He may have been buried mass grave of those who could not be identified during the recovery
11:03 a.m. – Miller visits site of Rana Plaza, where more than 1,100 garment workers died in April in one of the worst industrial tragedies in history.
10:09 a.m. – Miller meets with survivors of Rana Plaza.
9:53 a.m. – Miller spoke with Dr. Enamur Rahman at the Enam Medical College and Hospital regarding the condition of a worker whose legs were crush at Rana Plaza.
9:36 a.m. -- Miller visits with another worker who lost a limb from the rana plaza building collapse
9:00 a.m. – Miller visits the hospital where many workers are recovering from the Rana Plaza tragedy, many of whom have lost a limb.
8:45 a.m. -- Miller meets with seven garment worker who jumped from the third or fourth story to escape from the Tazreen Fashions building fire where 112 died.
Sunday, May 26th
3:00 p.m. -- Miller met with national unions at the Bangladesh Insttute for Labor Studies.
2:30 p.m. -- Miller met with the chairman of the Committee on Labour and Employment in the Bangladesh Parliament where they discussed the proposed labor law package that will be submitted by the cabinet to the parliament when the next session begins in June. Israfil Alam, MP was aware that the proposed law, which is a predicate for introducing the international labor organization's Better Work Program, had been criticized by unions as weakening workers' rights in certain sections, and was committed to consulting with unions, employers and NGOs and working to improve the law as it moved through Parliament. The photo was taken outside the Bangladesh Parliament building.
12:32 p.m. -- Miller met with Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament. She is the first woman speaker of the parliament and the youngest ever to serve in that position. They discussed efforts to combat poverty amongst women and children, and the accord on fire and building safety. She noted that House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a message of congratulations to her after she was made speaker.
10:00 a.m. -- Miller joined the U.S.-Bangladesh Partnership dialogue dealing with trade, investment, labor rights and factory safety reforms.
News clip from The Daily Star:
"US retailers should sign safe RMG deal, observes visiting Congressman Miller; plans to visit factories to see workplace safety"
US Congressman George Miller yesterday promised to urge large retailers Wal-Mart, Gap and Target to sign the building and fire safety accord for garment factories in Bangladesh.
So far, only two American firms — Abercrombie and Fitch and PVH, which own the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands — have signed the deal initiated by global trade union IndustrALL.
Miller was speaking at a meeting with labour leaders of four federations of garment sector at the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity in Dhaka.
Saturday, May 25th
5:00 p.m. -- Miller meets with young garment factory workers who are leading the fight to form unions in their factories.
3:43 p.m. -- Milller speaks before garment workers. He learned that have been getting technical assistance on forming unions from The Solidarity Center, an international organization affilated with the AFL-CIO to strengthen workers' rights through independent and democratic unions.
3:30 p.m.-- Miller meets with union federation leaders in Dhaka. Leaders explained to Miller their concerns that recent proposed Bangladeshi labor law reforms contain some poison pills mixed in with favorable reforms. These reforms to the country's labor laws are being touted as promoting internationally recognized labor rights, but contain other provisions that severely hamper worker rights.
